American Beauty. What is it really about? Love? Mid-life crisis? Mellow high?
No, it's simply a man's story, as diverse as it may seem.
American Beauty is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in my life, and is coincidentally the movie that gave me the trait of analyzing movies or simply 'looking closer'. There is simply no other way to define this movie. It's just 'beautiful'.
To understand a movie is to understand a work of art, and that gets you respect. And it's been three years and I still can't understand what AB is completely about.
Kevin Spacey delivers a revitalizing-of-his-career performance, so do Annette Bening and Chris Cooper.
The well-structured script introduces us to Lester Burnham, a troubled husband and father and clichéd everyman who hates their job, lives in the suburbs and has a family who resents them.
When the Fitts move in next door, and Lester meets his daunter's best friend Angela Hayes, he is introduced to a whole new life.
The rose bud is a symbol of beauty, and tranquility. Women receive roses on Valentine's Day, simply because they are beautiful.
Lester Burnham's monologue is most definitely the best I've ever heard in a movie. The things his character comes to notice and the emotions he embraces simply make you wonder what he has seen to rein spire him and breathe a fresh breath of air into his life.
Sam Mendes' direction and Conrad Hall's cinematography manage to baffle me every time I see the beginning and end shots of this film.
At times a comedy, at times a tragedy, American Beauty defines why I love watching, collecting, reviewing and experiencing movies.